New Slogan on Woody's Guitar - "How Did It Come to This?" [View all]

[orangecrush]

On the evening of February 27, a colossal projection of Woody Guthrie appeared on the north side of the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City. Standing several stories tall, and hovering on a white canvas that covered current construction scaffolding, the late musician’s guitar that famously was emblazoned with “This Machine Kills Fascists” asked instead, “How Did It Come to This.”

The resurrection of the activist in his home state was the work of artist Jack Fowler with the technical collaboration of Stephen Tyler. Fowler had initially hoped to return and feature crowdsourced #WoodysGuitar messages on the capitol’s façade. The day after the action, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services issued a statement, shared by the Oklahoman, that although they “appreciate the creativity and ingenuity displayed by local artists” it’s “important to note that projecting images onto the state Capitol is prohibited without the necessary permits.” On an attempted return, Fowler was met by state troopers and threatened with arrest and the seizure of his equipment. ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel told news station KFOR: “They’re communicating to other Oklahomans that may be interested in stepping out and using their voice to communicate a political message, that if you do this, you do so under threat of arrest or having your property seized.”


http://hyperallergic.com/364138/this-projection-art-kills-fascists/